Pink creature laid egg over 8,000 years ago. Now, it’s been found at construction site
Don’t count your flamingos before they hatch.
An ancient and unopened flamingo egg was recently unearthed in Mexico, officials said, calling it a very rare discovery.
The fossilized egg, which is between 8,000 and 12,000 years old, was found during the construction of an airport in Mexico City, according to an Aug. 2 news release from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
The 3.5-inch-long fossil was pulled out from under about a foot of clay, shale and other sediment, officials said.
The shell, spotless and oblong in shape, was then compared to the eggs of living waterfowl, including geese, swans and pelicans.
Using this method, researchers were able to conclude it was laid by a flamingo, making it the first fossilized flamingo egg ever to be found in the Americas. Only five other petrified flamingo eggs have been found worldwide; they were located in Spain and date back between 15 and 23 million years.
Currently, the pink birds eschew central Mexico, opting for locales in the Caribbean, South America and parts of the Gulf of Mexico.
But, using climate data, researchers inferred that conditions in central Mexico were wetter and warmer thousands of years ago, making it a more attractive location for flamingos. They also hypothesized that a shallow, salt-water lake existed in the region around 8,000 years ago.
It’s been proposed that glacier movement or volcanic activity significantly changed the climate of the region over the intervening years, officials said.
Though uncommon, fossilized eggs can be found worldwide, according to the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History. Typically, small pieces of shell are unearthed while whole eggs and clutches are more rare.
Google Translate was used to translate a news release from INAH.
This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Pink creature laid egg over 8,000 years ago. Now, it’s been found at construction site."